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Americans Making C/C purchases Abroad


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Got something interesting in the mail today, I'd expect others will have received it too or can expect to soon.

Seems that there was a class action suit against Master Card, Visa, Diner's Club, etc. alleging that they conspired to hide fees and jack up exchange rates on US customers using their cards abroad over a ten year period. Now, I've yet to have the opportunity to leave the U.S. but I have nabbed some CDs and LPs fromUK and French online stores, so I guess that is why I got the notification of the proposed settlement. $350 million, give or take, available, and three different ways to file a claim:

The "easy" refund simply accepts $25 to cover all potential claims. Since I probably haven't spent more than $100 in online purchases overseas, this is a great deal for me.

The other two options are designed for people who spent a significant amount of time overseas during the period. One is an "total estimated refund" and will amount to no more than 1% of estimated foreign transactions.

Last is the "Annual Estimated" refund for corporate accounts and those who really spent a lot of time overseas.

Now that I think about it, what is to stop someone who logically should accept the $25 "easy" refund from answering the handful of questions for the second option? If you pump up a claim for a large amount of money spent overseas but don't have to document it, surely that 1% of "estimated" foreign transactions will exceed the $25.

I imagine a lot of people here should be getting their notifications.

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Mine also arrived yesterday... and I did spend a fair amount of time overseas during that time frame -- might be as much as 12 weeks.

I always have to wonder how much the attorneys make from this "settlements" like this. I've got no love for credit card companies, but...

The thing I always focus on is it makes sense to accept the terms of any of these proposed settlements because you won't get anything unless you opt out and pursue your own claim - and who has the time and money to do that? As to your specific question - its answered on the inner page of what you received. Its a lot more than $25.

Having gone to the website, its clear that you'd be running a risk if you tried to claim a larger settlement than your purchases support, because all claims may be audited. Better to just accept the $25 if that's what you're entitled to.

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This is interesting. Did your documentation say how much the card companies were adding on to transactions?

I've always thought that my card company doesn't rip me off greatly - but really, I don't know. It certainly costs less to use a credit card for purchases abroad (even if you're physically abroad) than to change cash. But you don't get, and surely can't expect, the same rates on a CC transaction that the money men get and you see quoted everywhere. But somewhere between those two points, there's a threshold between reasonable and rip-off. Only the public doesn't know where it is.

MG

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This is interesting. Did your documentation say how much the card companies were adding on to transactions?

Its all alleged - in these types of class action suits, companies make an agreement to settle while denying all claims because it is cheaper than defending themselves in court and risking an adverse judgment.

The allegation is that they "set and conceal fees, typically 1-3% on foreign transactions, and that Visa and Mastercard inflated their base exchange rates before applying these fees ... in violation of state and federal anti-trust laws and consumer protection laws".

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I always have to wonder how much the attorneys make from this "settlements" like this. I've got no love for credit card companies, but...

According to the flyer (yeah, I got one as well!):

The lawyers for the class members will request 27.5% of the estimated $313,000,000 expected to remain in the settlement fund after deducting costs for administering the settlement and notice, plus interest, for attorneys' fees for investigating the facts, litigating and resolving the case. They will also request reimbursement of their expenses, not to exceed $5,000,000, to be paid from the settlement fund.

Well, gee; that's only fair. 27.5% is only a little over 86 mil. You can't expect them to cover the expenses out of that! :lol:

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Does this sentence mean that the Easy Refund may turn out to be less that $25.00?

Please note that if the volume of claims is unexpectedly high, it may be necessary to adjust refund amounts

In the FAQs on the site, it makes it clear that it would take something pretty big to reduce the minimum payment below $25. Can't remember the exact wording but if you go to the site and click on the FAQ link, you can find it.

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This is interesting. Did your documentation say how much the card companies were adding on to transactions?

Its all alleged - in these types of class action suits, companies make an agreement to settle while denying all claims because it is cheaper than defending themselves in court and risking an adverse judgment.

The allegation is that they "set and conceal fees, typically 1-3% on foreign transactions, and that Visa and Mastercard inflated their base exchange rates before applying these fees ... in violation of state and federal anti-trust laws and consumer protection laws".

Ah - it seems different here. There's no fee for foreign purchases charged by British CC members of Visa. And the exchange rate we get doesn't seem out of line. Paypal's exchange rates seem similar, though I've not, of course, been able to do a controlled experiment.

Actually, the next time I order something by CC from America, I could make an immediate, identical, donation via Paypal to Organissimo!

MG

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I'm definitely going the "total estimated refund" route....although it wasn't clear to me if that includes overseas online transactions in addition to 'boots on the ground' ones? If I receive anything, I'll be sure to pass it along as a holiday gift to my friend Chris Alberston so that he doesn't have to pack up all his books, LPs and Mac gear and move to the burbs. :cool:

Family Begs for $1 Million To Buy Fancy Apartment

Posted Dec 7th 2007 11:49AM by Ada Calhoun

AOL news

A family on the Upper West Side of New York has placed an ad in New York magazine pleading for $1 million to buy an apartment so they can stay in their wealthy neighborhood. Gawker spotted the ad and posted it here; it reads:

"WE NEED HELP BUYING AN APARTMENT on the UWS, 3bd 2 bath. YOU are a philanthropic, wealthy person who would not miss a million bucks and would be interested in donating (or even investing) in a highly targeted manner: to my family. WE are a wonderful, hard working middle class family who contributes to our UWS community, is entrenched, happy and desperately wants to remain on the UWS (lest the city lose yet another wonderful family to the burbs). We can afford 600-700K, so you see the predicament. Can you help us??"

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While millions of credit card users in Britain aren't even worried about the interest they're paying!

Millions still paying for Xmas 2006

Press Assoc. - Saturday, December 8 11:12 amMillions of shoppers are still paying off debts they ran up during spending sprees last Christmas, according to a survey.

(Advertisement)

Research has found 10% of adults - the equivalent of 4.4 million people - have yet to pay back all the funds they borrowed during the festive period in 2006, according to the financial comparison website MoneyExpert.com.

A survey commissioned by the online site found 14% of those aged 35 to 44 were most likely to be suffering a financial hangover from last Christmas.

Women (11%) were also more likely to still be paying off 2006 debts compared with men (8%).

The website said that someone carrying a balance of £1,000 from last Christmas will have spent about £169 in interest over the year if their rate was 16.9%.

Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: "It is not time to cancel Christmas but for millions of us it really is time to cancel some credit cards.

"We can all give into temptation at Christmas and put it on plastic but if the debt lingers from year to year you're starting to get into trouble. Borrowing money is fine as long as you have a repayment plan.

"Unfortunately it appears millions of us do not. And with lenders getting tough that is not a good position to be in. If you've not cleared the debts of Christmas past it is time to face up to the future."

The online survey of 1,978 adults found 54% did not get into any debt last Christmas or paid it off in a month or less.

Another 9% took between two and five months to clear their festive spending while 3% took two months to clear their debts, 3% took three months, 2% took four months and 1% took five months.

MG

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Family Begs for $1 Million To Buy Fancy Apartment

Posted Dec 7th 2007 11:49AM by Ada Calhoun

AOL news

A family on the Upper West Side of New York has placed an ad in New York magazine pleading for $1 million to buy an apartment so they can stay in their wealthy neighborhood. Gawker spotted the ad and posted it here; it reads:

"WE NEED HELP BUYING AN APARTMENT on the UWS, 3bd 2 bath. YOU are a philanthropic, wealthy person who would not miss a million bucks and would be interested in donating (or even investing) in a highly targeted manner: to my family. WE are a wonderful, hard working middle class family who contributes to our UWS community, is entrenched, happy and desperately wants to remain on the UWS (lest the city lose yet another wonderful family to the burbs). We can afford 600-700K, so you see the predicament. Can you help us??"

Kinda gets you, right here, don't it....

No, not there; lower.

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  • 4 months later...

Has anybody received any money from this yet?

I finally got around to filling mine out (did it on-line, quick and easy). Requests have to be submitted by May 30.

Thanks for the reminder, Mark. I need to submit mine still, and had actually forgotten about it until your timely reminder. I'm submitting Option 2, since I lived overseas for 5 of the years in the settlement (don't have my old statements, or I'd consider going with Option 3).

edit - I don't like this FAQ question/response:

When will I get my refund?

Refunds will be paid after the Court finally approves the settlement, and approves any award of attorneys' fees, awards to the class representatives, and allocation of the settlement fund among Settlement Damages Class members, and any appeals related to that approval are resolved. It is possible that this could take several months, or, if appeals are filed, several years. You may want to check this website from time to time for updates.

Edited by Aggie87
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  • 3 years later...

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